A young woman who was hit by a vehicle and dragged several blocks in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is facing multiple surgeries and a lifelong recovery as she remains in life-threatening condition.
The woman has been identified by friends on a GoFundMe page as 24-year-old Desiree Evancio. According to police, she was walking near Hastings Street and Jackson Avenue shortly after 12:30 a.m. when she was struck by a vehicle.
The driver, a man in his 30s from the U.S., did not notice Evancio was trapped under the vehicle until it stopped at Hastings Street and Columbia Street.
READ MORE: Woman seriously injured after being struck by vehicle, dragged several blocks in Vancouver
Police said the man was arrested and later released, pending a further investigation and that alcohol was believed to be a factor.
Evancio is expected to remain in hospital for at least six months as she recovers from her injuries which include a broken jaw, cheek bone and multiple broken bones in her arms and legs, her sister Ashley Danh said Wednesday.
She also lost her right eye and will need facial reconstruction surgery.
| Desiree Evancio, 24. (GoFundMe photo) |
“We are all in shock that an accident as severe could ever happen and when it happens to the person you love and care for the most you are sometimes in disbelief,” Danh said.
In two days’ time the online fundraiser has raised $48,000, as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to friends, Evancio is originally from Ontario and her sister is her only immediate family in B.C.
“She is an adventurous, full of life, always up for a good time and a laugh, free-spirited young woman, with so much life still ahead of her,” the gofundme page reads. “Sadly she is yet another example of bad things happening to good people.”
Black Press Media has reached out to Vancouver police for an update on the investigation.
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